Tokyo Conducts Carshare Trial with Electric Toyotas

Toyota’s one-seater electric vehicles will be part of a one-year study in Tokyo, according to a report by The Asahi Shimbun.

The trial is jointly run by the carsharing provider Park24 Co. and the transport ministry, which will examine how the service is used. The trial is based off of “take-it-here, leave-it-there” style carsharing services, says the report.

The car-sharing trial is available only to members of the Times Car Plus carsharing service, owned by Park24. The one-seater cars can be parked at any of the service’s 88 hubs in Tokyo. The two cars available include Toyota’s i-Road or Toyota Auto Body Co.’s compact electric vehicle Coms.

Fees for the carsharing service start at 206 yen (approximately $1.75) for 15 minutes, according to the report.

As fleet miles increase exponentially, and as new stratum of fleet enter both consumer and business use cases, the "founding fathers" who gathered at Fleet Forward in Miami last week have some work to do.